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EU Proposal Would Spare Great Apes From Medical Research
November 6th, 2008
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/11/06/eu-proposal-would-spare-great-apes-from-medical-research/

The European Commission has proposed a ban on medical research
performed on our species' closest relatives, the great apes. The
pan-European initiative would extend a ban already in force in
Austria, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Sweden across the entire
27-member bloc. The ban, however, would not greatly affect current
research, because no testing has been carried out on great apes in the
EU for the past six years [The Scientist]. Nevertheless, the proposal
[pdf] has received mixed reviews from both the scientific community,
who fear excessive red tape, and animal rights groups, who say the ban
does not go far enough.

If approved, the ban would prohibit researchers from using great apes,
including chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans, to test
scientific "procedures," although behavioral studies will still be
allowed. There will also be exceptions for research that could save a
great ape species threatened with extinction and in the case of a
serious pandemic that affects humans. The proposal also affects
research on other animals, stressing the "3Rs" of reducing the number
of animals used, refining techniques to lessen pain and discomfort,
and replacing animal studies with alternatives [ScienceNOW Daily
News]. Some 12 million vertebrate animals are used each year in
experiments throughout the 27-nation bloc — half for drug development
and testing, a third for biology studies and the rest for cosmetics
tests, toxicology and disease diagnosis [Reuters].

Some scientists worry that the current proposal is only a preview of a
more comprehensive ban on all non-human primate studies. They say
primate models are necessary for the study of degenerative diseases
like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. "We are dismayed that some members
of the European Parliament are burying their heads in the sands of
antivivisection propaganda, refusing to even meet researchers or visit
animal facilities," said Dr Simon Festing, director of the Research
Defence Society. "We are facing a strong push to restrict in any way
possible the use of monkeys in research at a time when it is most
needed and when there is no alternative" [Telegraph].

The proposal is awaiting approval by the European Parliament and the
European Council of Ministers, a process that could take more than a
year. Though the controversy has focused on the "Great Ape Debate,"
species with fewer human advocates may also gain pardon from
scientific research. For the first time, the rules would cover
research on fetal nonhuman vertebrates in the final third of their
development and several groups of nonvertebrates that show evidence of
pain and distress, including octopuses, squid, and decapod crustaceans
such as crabs and lobsters [ScienceNOW Daily News].